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1 John 2:3-5
New Catholic Bible
1 John 2:3-5
New Catholic Bible
The Commandment of Love[a]
3 Now we may be certain that we know him
if we obey his commandments.
4 Whoever says, “I know him,”
but does not keep his commandments,
is a liar,
and the truth is not in him.[b]
5 However, the love of God is truly perfected
in the one who obeys his word.
This is how we can be certain
that we are in union with him:
Footnotes
- 1 John 2:3 Gnostics claimed to possess a special revealed “knowledge.” But John stresses that there is a real and living knowledge of God, a true light, an authentic truth, and it is expressed in a life that is lived in accord with the commandments of God. Its great characteristic is love. New doctrines are being put forth. Christian teaching is a commandment of Jesus, which in this sense is old. Yet it is also new because it is revealed in Jesus as a fact as well as in the life of believers. In the face of everything that is without purpose or sense, faith is a ray of light, a victory over darkness, a bright dawn for the world.
- 1 John 2:4 John reiterates the testimony of Paul and James about faith and works. James said that faith without works is dead (see note on Jas 2:14-26). Paul indicated that rewards would be based on good and bad deeds (see 2 Cor 5:10; see also note on Rom 4:3). John says that Christians who do not keep the commandments of Jesus are liars and the truth is not in them. For faith in Christ without good deeds, i.e., keeping the commandments, is not authentic.
